Competition in Europe, US and PH

It’s only when you shop in supermarkets in the United States and Europe, and see the vast selection of products and the stiff price competition among stores, that you realize just how shortchanged the Filipino shoppers are.

I was on holiday in England recently and shopping in local supermarkets. Unlike in the Philippines where the Constitution forbids 100-percent foreign ownership of retail outlets, in England competition among both local and foreign stores is fierce. The result? Lower prices and a much greater selection for shoppers.

In contrast, the Constitution here has handed almost the entire supermarket trade on a plate to several companies that don’t want to rock the boat by engaging in price competition.

Joyous will be the day when foreign supermarkets and foreign discount food stores are to do business here. The winners will be the Filipino people. The losers? The local fat cats who today have a stranglehold on the local retail food business.

—ROBERT HARLAND,

rharland@

mozcom.com